Microgrants fund books, boots and more

Microgrants fund books, boots and more

From January through March, smaller clubs made a big impact through the Kiwanis Children’s Fund.

By Erin Chandler 

In January, February and March, Kiwanis clubs around the world received Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants for small projects that will make a big impact on kids and families. Microgrants are helping clubs teach kids how to be safe in swimming pools and when crossing the street, providing school supplies for students and teachers, and more.  

The following three projects highlight some of the ways Kiwanis clubs are using microgrants to help young people in need keep up with their peers in the Kiwanis cause areas of education and literacy, health and nutrition, and youth leadership development.  

Health and Nutrition
Huellas Seguras (Secure Footprints)
Kiwanis Club of Las Claras, Panama
One of the most common reasons students dropped out of Las Claras Arriba Rural and Multigrade School was the weather. Heavy rains exacerbated by climate change make it difficult for students to walk barefoot — as many do — over long distances on slippery roads to get to school. However, the Kiwanis Club of Las Claras saw that this was a relatively easy problem to solve, especially with a little help. A Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant will go toward the purchase of 100 pairs of rubber boots and waterproof capes, which will be distributed to students through the local development board and the school’s parents’ association. The club hopes to see a boost in consistent attendance rates once the students have rain gear protecting their health and safety on the way to school. 

Education and Literacy
Reading is Fundamental Book Giveaway
Kiwanis Club of Highland, Indiana, U.S.
Thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Highland and a Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant, kids who aren’t able to purchase books from the Scholastic Book Fair still get to take home a brand-new Scholastic Book. Every year around the time of the book fair, Kiwanians visit the six area schools. They read to the kindergarten classes and tell the students about K-Kids, which they’ll be eligible to join in the third grade. Then each child gets to select a book purchased by the club from Scholastic Books, a Kiwanis partner. It’s a great way for kids to grow — or start — their home library. A favorite among club members, the project has already helped hundreds of kids get excited about reading. 

Youth Leadership Development
Calm Corners for Kids
Kiwanis Club of Freeport Golden K, Illinois, U.S.
At Jones-Farrar School, members of Builders Club — the Kiwanis Service Leadership Program for students age 12-14 — learned that not every school had spaces set aside to help students practice mindfulness and relaxation when needed. So they decided to do something about it — and the Kiwanis Club of Freeport Golden K pledged to help. Now a Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrant will help these two Kiwanis family clubs work together to create three Calm Corners at local community centers. The Corners will be supplied with weighted blankets, noise-canceling headphones, floor cushions, sensory toys and other tools to help kids manage their emotions, reduce stress and develop self-regulation skills. The club will also provide training resources for Calm Corner volunteers and informational resources for parents. Each Corner will be codesigned with the kids who will use it. This initiative fosters the servant leadership of the Jones-Farrar Builders Club and helps more kids develop the mental and emotional resilience they will need as leaders of tomorrow. 

How you can help
To learn more about Kiwanis Children’s Fund microgrants, visitkiwanis.org/microgrant-program.   

If you want to help the Children’s Fund provide grants like these that reach children around the world, you canmake a giftto The Possibility Project. Your club alsocan apply for a grantto help kids in your community today. 

Scholarship recipients building a better world 

Scholarship recipients building a better world 

The Kiwanis Children’s Fund honors 8 Key Club and CKI scholars.

By Erin Chandler

The eight outstanding students who received this year’s Kiwanis Children’s Fund scholarships show a special dedication to leadership and mentorship — and to ensuring everyone has equal access to the resources they need. Each recipient says that the values and skills they have learned in Key Club and Circle K International (CKI) will form the basis for the difference they’ll make. In fact, each of these brilliant scholars is already paving the way for those who will come after them. And some of them are already planning to join Kiwanis! 

The Children’s Fund is honored to help them continue their education in the upcoming academic year. 

Paige Hein
Linda Canaday Memorial Scholarship
Paige Hein recently graduated from Washington Township High School in Indiana, U.S. She was elected vice president of her Key Club in her freshman year, and she went on to serve as club treasurer, Key Leader student facilitator and lieutenant governor before becoming governor of the Indiana District. Hein’s governorship focused on raising funds and awareness for environmental sustainability. In addition, she is the cofounder and director of sustainability for the nonprofit 4SEE (Sustainability, Equity and Education). As an intern for Earth Charter Indiana, she engaged with young people and legislators in her state to advocate for the environment. Among her many service roles, Hein was lead facilitator of youth recommendations for the United Nations on the Sustainable Development Goal for climate and copresenter of the youth track at Earth Charter Indiana’s Climate Leadership Summit. She plans to study environmental sociology at the University of San Francisco before pursuing a career in the United Nations Environment Programme. Hein pledges to use the leadership skills she gained through Key Club “to fight for a more equitable world.” 

Erina Haque
Wagner Family Scholarship
Erina Haque is a recent graduate of Lake Braddock Secondary School in Virginia, U.S. Haque served Key Club at the district and international levels in positions that include Capital District governor. Her focus as governor was on expanding equity — she opened conversations about discrimination and hate speech, created district member representative positions to advocate for marginalized populations, and founded the District Language Services Committee to translate important Key Club documents into more languages. Outside of Key Club, Haque served as international director of public relations for Mind4Youth, one of the largest youth-led mental health nonprofit organizations in the world; captain of her school’s debate team; editor-in-chief of The Bear Facts newspaper; and president of the Social Studies Honor Society. With the Harvard Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders, she led a team lobbying for legislation to ban the sale of over-the-counter weight loss drugs to minors. During an internship with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she designed and presented a new model for increased funding access for small business owners in developing nations. After studying international relations, government and political science at Vanderbilt University, Haque plans to run for political office, where she will “lead with care, challenging uninclusive social structures and building a better world for all.”  

Sameen Enam
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Sameen Enam was a member of Baton Rouge Magnet High School Key Club in Louisiana, U.S., for four years before graduating this year. She began as bulletin editor for her club and the Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee District before being elected district governor. As governor, Enam launched and led the “Pour It Forward” campaign to fund a freshwater well through Thirst Project. She was also vice president and cofounder of her school’s Animal Rights Preservation Club, assistant choreographer and historian for the Indian Student Association and technology coordinator for the Junior Classical League. In pursuit of her goal to become a biomedical engineer, Enam has shadowed physicians across hospital departments and is working with researchers at Louisiana State University’s College of Engineering to develop bioimaging techniques for detecting pancreatic cancer. “In biomedical engineering, I plan to apply my leadership skills to drive innovation and advocate for equitable healthcare solutions,” she says. Enam plans to attend Georgia Institute of Technology next year. 

Mohammed Ali Al-Sabeh
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Mohammed Ali Al-Sabeh recently graduated from Crestwood High School in Michigan, U.S. He served the Crestwood High School Key Club as underclassmen director and president before going on to positions at the district and international levels, including as an international trustee. In his first year of Key Club, Al-Sabeh launched the “Mittens for Michigan” project, which has provided over 600 giant mittens filled with comfort items for pediatric cancer patients. He also helped his school’s Key Club grow from 30 members to more than 100. In addition to shadowing medical professionals as an intern, Al-Sabeh is a math instructor at the Mathnasium Learning Center, where he has organized a monthly raffle and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Day to motivate his students. His mentorship has extended to roles in Aspire United Education’s STEM Mentorship Program and Crestwood Science Club, and to volunteer student teaching in the Dearborn High School special education classroom. As electrical lead of his school’s robotics team, he raised thousands of U.S. dollars to provide robotics mentoring to elementary and middle school students. Al-Sabeh plans to study biochemistry at the University of Southern California before becoming a UNICEF ambassador and neurosurgeon working with the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research, where he will work to break down systemic barriers to healthcare.  

Shailee Shah
CKI Past Presidents Scholarship
Shailee Shah’s commitment to combating food insecurity began in middle school, when she built three Little Free Pantries to provide 24/7 access to essential, shelf-stable food items for all who needed them. Shah is the founder and director of The Spark Momentum, a 501(c)(3) organization that spreads awareness about food insecurity and teaches others how to build Little Free Pantries in their communities. She credits Circle K International at the New Jersey Institute of Technology with providing the platform and support to expand this passion project. She has served as treasurer and president of the club, which has built and operates two more pantries in underserved communities. The first received a Tomorrow Fund grant from the Children’s Fund. Shah is a freelance artist who has served as copresident of the Pre-Health Society, a neuroscience research assistant at New Jersey Medical School and a hospitalist medical scribe. She currently works as an intern with the Biobanking Compliance Program at the New Jersey Department of Health and volunteers as an Emergency Medical Technician. “Every call reinforces my passion for medicine, not just in treating individual patients, but in addressing the broader inequities that affect access and outcomes,” Shah says. “My CKI experiences have taught me that meaningful change happens when leadership is driven by empathy and action.” Shah’s goals include reducing mental health stigma as a neuropsychiatrist and establishing Little Free Pantries in every county in New Jersey, U.S. 

Hasan Ghafoor
John E. Mayfield CKI Scholarship
“In my family,” Hasan Ghafoor says, “our faith informed us that you cannot eat while your neighbor goes hungry.” He could see that his community in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, struggled to address homelessness and healthcare. “I knew that I wanted to play a role in addressing these needs, but I was uncertain how until I came across CKI during university.” Ghafoor served the University of Windsor’s Circle K International club as president and the Eastern Canada District as events chair and governor. In these roles, he focused on initiatives to provide food, healthcare access and more than 500 hygiene kits to local populations experiencing homelessness. The University of Windsor CKI’s Hygiene for Hope program received a Tomorrow Fund grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund. Outside of CKI, Ghafoor spreads awareness of homelessness in his community as host and producer of the campus radio show “Word on the Street.” He was also copresident of the MusicBox Children’s Charity, which organizes music education for underprivileged children, a peer mentor for the University of Windsor’s Outstanding Scholars Program and a volunteer teacher of elementary school students in its Let’s Talk Science program. While pursuing a career as a physician, Ghafoor interns at a respirology clinic and a retina clinic, and he volunteers as a pediatrics assistant and as a rehabilitation aid. He also works part-time as a coach for weekly sports programs. 

Riya Goyal
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Riya Goyal is a computer science and mathematics major at Stockton University in New Jersey, U.S. She has been a member of Circle K International for four years and currently serves on the CKI board’s Brick x Brick Committee. She says working with Brick x Brick has been an eye-opening experience because “we weren’t just tackling problems; we were bridging cultures, creating connections and turning ideas into tangible change.” Goyal began her university career with “a deep desire to help international students navigate the challenges of college life.” She created a community by mentoring high school and college students in the Success Scholars Program; as a team lead in the Governor STEM Scholars program; as a volunteer math tutor for Encorps and SchoolHouse; and as a math and computer science tutor, admissions ambassador and resident assistant for Stockton University. She is founding president of the Stockton International Student Organization, president of the Stockton Honors College and Alpha Lambda Delta National Honors Society, and member of the Student Senate Academic Affairs Committee and School of Business Student Advisory Board, among many other organizations. In an internship for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Goyal has already conducted research on leveraging artificial intelligence tools for philanthropy. 

Samuel Zheng
Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship
Also a student at Stockton University, Samuel Zheng majors in biology. He has served CKI at the club, division, district and international levels over three years, including as lieutenant governor of the Garden Division, district editor, Brick x Brick Committee member and international member experience chair. He says that his experience in CKI has inspired him to take on other leadership roles, including as co-vice president of the Stockton University Chemistry Society and historian for Delta Epislon Mu, a professional fraternity for students in healthcare fields. CKI also has helped him uncover a passion for teaching and mentorship, leading to roles as a teaching assistant for a physics class, a math and science tutor at Stockton University’s tutoring center, and an engagement leadership team member in the university’s Center of Community Engagement and Service Learning. In the latter role, Zheng helps underserved students ages 5-12 with their homework, forming strong bonds with some of the children. “Being in Circle K International has pushed me to serve directly in my communities,” he says, “and face issues head-on that many people might not be aware of.” 

Visit the Kiwanis Children’s Fund Scholarship Opportunities page for information about scholarships distributed by the Children’s Fund, including who to contact with questions and award notification dates.  

2025 Signature Project Contest winners

2025 Signature Project Contest winners

Out of 519 contest entries from around the world, this year’s six winning projects brought communities together. 

By Erin Chandler 

Kiwanis clubs around the world brought their communities together over the past year through creative and impactful service, fundraisers and events. On June 26 at the 2025 Kiwanis International Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., Kiwanians gathered to celebrate the best of Kiwanis clubs’ signature projects. 

Out of 519 contest entries from around the world, this year’s six winning projects were notable for bringing communities together, whether for projects that meet an important need or annual events that create joy for everyone. Through coordinated events and ongoing programs, these clubs promoted the Kiwanis causes — health and nutrition, education and literacy, and youth leadership development — in innovative ways. 

For contest details, visit the Signature Project Contest webpage. 

Group One (clubs with 27 or fewer members)

Gold 

Kiwanis Club of Stunning Davao — Southern Philippine District 
Nature Warriors: A Kid Learns to Protect Nature  

Through its Nature Warriors program, the Kiwanis Club of Stunning Davao aims to keep the Philippines’ Davao region stunning — by reaching out to its youngest residents. The club partners with the Department of Education to connect with schools in isolated areas that are in critical need of environmental protection. The visiting Kiwanians distribute bags containing school supplies, dental kits and books on nature to the students; install waste segregation stations; and teach kids how to protect the environment by properly disposing of garbage. The program also includes regular coastal cleanups, and soon the club hopes to partner with a turtle sanctuary to give hands-on lessons on protecting marine life. Each child who benefits from the Nature Warriors program brings what they have learned home with them, spreading the word about responsible environmental stewardship throughout the community.   

Silver 

Kiwanis Club of Sydney — Australia District 
Kiwanis Sydney Comfort Care Cases  

Every year, the Kiwanis Club of Sydney raises funds through a cake stall at a local shopping center, a raffle and a silent auction to support children and families through their most difficult times. The proceeds help to make “comfort care cases” for kids facing end-of-life care at Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick. The cases include items like mood lights, scent atomizers, soft toys, pillows and blankets to create a comforting, homelike atmosphere for the children; cameras and art supplies to let families create photos, pictures and hand- and footprints; children’s books that explain the process of death and mourning; teas and coffee for long waits; and other items to help families care for and remember their children. Currently, the club stocks seven cases located in the hospital’s palliative care, oncology, emergency and intensive care wards, and two mobile cases for home visits. Over the past 12 years, Kiwanis comfort care cases have provided solace to 50 kids and families.  

Bronze 

Kiwanis Club of North Suburban, Saint Paul — Minnesota-Dakotas District 
Kiwanis Malt Shop at the Minnesota State Fair  

For 55 years, the Kiwanis Malt Shop has been a must on to-do lists of Minnesota State Fair attendees — and members of the Kiwanis Club of North Suburban, Saint Paul look forward to it every year, too! During the 12-day fair, club members are joined by the Roseville Key Club and community volunteers in dishing up 15,000-20,000 malts over the course of 230 four-hour shifts. A Kiwanian is always available to provide answers to questions — along with Kiwanis information and membership applications for guests to take with them. Each year, the malt shop raises an average of US$114,000, which the club uses to support a cause — such as Key Club, 4-H, student scholarships or organizations fighting food insecurity — which is chosen based on community need. Malt shop funds also have helped establish five elementary school libraries, install a slide in a park for an underserved community of new refugees, build a Miracle League baseball field for kids with disabilities and much more.  

 

Group Two (clubs with 28 or more members)

Gold 

Kiwanis Club of Birmingham — Alabama District 
Kiwanis Reads  

In just four years, the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham’s Kiwanis Reads program has brought books into the schools and homes of 20,000 children. In this literacy program, Kiwanians visit 900 preschools in Birmingham twice a year to read to students and give each one a book to build their own home libraries. Each book contains a Kiwanis bookplate with a QR code that leads to a video of a Kiwanis club member reading the book aloud — an extra tool to help kids in homes where there might not be an adult available to read in English. This year, Kiwanis Reads received a club grant from the Kiwanis Children’s Fund; expanded into 10 new schools, allowing the club to serve 300 more students; and partnered with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to restart the Books Not Bullets program, providing books for police officers to hand out on patrol. School officials say students are increasing their vocabulary and reading fluency by reading aloud — all while they learn to associate reading with fun.  

Silver 

Kiwanis Club of West St. Andrew — Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District 
Ferry Health and Dental Fair  

Not even a tropical storm can stop the Kiwanis Club of West St. Andrew’s Ferry Health and Dental Fair. The Ferry community suffers from high poverty and unemployment levels, a lack of running water and the absence of any health center or dental care provider. With help from Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness, as well as partner organizations that provide equipment, volunteer medical professionals and more, the Kiwanis Club of West St. Andrew stepped in. The club’s Health and Dental Fair provides free treatments, screenings — including blood pressure checks, diabetes testing, and HIV/STI testing and counseling — dental cleanings, nutritional counseling and vitamin distribution. Patients are also provided with three months of any prescribed medication free of cost. In 2024, 67 medical professionals worked through the rains of Tropical Storm Raphael to treat more than 3,500 patients over the course of the three-day fair. The effort and dedication have even resulted in 12 new Kiwanis members.  

Bronze 

Kiwanis Club of Brandon — Western Canada District 
Annual Kiwanis Kar Derby  

For the past 35 years, residents of Brandon, Manitoba, have come together to cheer on their kids in the Kiwanis Kar Derby. Some of the motorless, handmade “soapbox” cars in the race have been passed down within families or sponsoring companies for generations — but the club also often supplies cars to children who cannot afford them or who don’t have an available adult to help build them. Around 300 people attended the most recent Derby. Ray’s Fireplace barbecues for the crowd, neighbors give up their yards for parking and soldiers from the nearby army base help move equipment. The event raises an average of CA$13,900 each year, which goes right back into the community. New and old club members love to see the work they do come to fruition — and to see the smiles on kids’ faces as they speed downhill.